Tag: Wigan Athletic

After all the pre-season optimism, a lot of scales fall from the eyes of football supporters by five o’clock on the opening day of the season. On Saturday afternoon, however, it was Wigan Athletic supporters rather than those of Blackpool that had pause for thought at just how arduous the coming nine months could be after a defensive performance of such paucity that Roberto Martinez might just already be starting to consider how long into the season he will be able to last at Wigan. They were saved from an even greater thrashing by a ropey offside call and some poor first half finishing by a visiting attacking pairing that played parts of the first half as if they were still getting to know each other. Perhaps the writing was on the wall on Saturday morning, when the front page of The Guardian asked the question of Blackpool, “Is this the worst team to ever appear in the Premier league?”. It was a question that seemed like an odd one to be putting forward on the first day of the season and it was one that begged to be upset by a Blackpool that had, of course, ended last season on the crest of a wave. Indeed, by the end of the afternoon Blackpool supporters could have been forgiven for answering the question by saying, “No, but perhaps Wigan...

The Premier League’s Annual General Meeting this summer will provide stringent salary cap regulations for English football’s top tier, to judge by the plethora of club chairmen who have offered unsolicited opinions in favour of such regulations in recent months. It is refreshing to see such a consensus around an issue of such magnitude, especially coming from a group of people of such sound judgement. West Ham co-owner David Gold has struck a discordant note around the subject. But he has expressed his views with admirable consistency, long before salary caps became the sexy subject in the wake of Portsmouth’s financial demise. As he said on BBC Sport last summer, in opposition to “capping”: “I think you have to be very careful that you don’t go all the way back to 50 or 60 years ago, when Blackpool was the top club in the division, because you’d end up with a very bland league.” That, alongside his view that a “league” is “the survival of the fittest,” is a healthy sign that the debate will be constructive and well-informed, I’m sure you’ll agree. The credibility of the salary cap argument is demonstrated by Fulham chairman Mohamed Fayed being its most fervent supporter. As long ago as last April, Fayed was talking in admirably emotive terms on the subject. “Take my crusade against Sky-high players’ wages,” he told London’s Evening...

Spurs have scored nine goals before in front of the “Match Of The Day” cameras, against Bristol Rovers in the Second Divison in 1977. This, however, was a different kettle of fish, and it’s a result that casts doubt over Wigan Athletic’s ability to keep their heads above water this season.

“Don’t you know who I am? I’m a millionaire”, was Marlon King’s chat-up line, and when it was swatted away by the unfortunate recipient of it he got nasty. Yesterday, he reaped the dubious “reward” of his idiocy and was deservedly sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

When Petr Cech was sent off for Chelsea on Saturday, the London club suffered more for being reduced to ten men than they did for losing their goalkeeper. In the days before substitute goalkeepers, though, things were even more entertaining.